cake wrecks

Please check out this blog that I found today, via this post on the Craftzine blog. It's called Cake Wrecks, and is absolutely hilarious. It features only professionally-made cakes, and just to give you a "taste," the labels include "Close-Your-Eyes," "Creative Grammar," and "Oh-So-Ugly." Here's one that falls under the "Creepy Cakes" category, and scarily enough, features my name...

photo links

I've posted a bunch of photos on Facebook, but would like to share them with others who are not [yet] on Facebook. I've noticed that other links I've posted like this have stopped working after a time, so if that happens, please let me know. They should be fine for a while though...

In chronological order:

Around Edinburgh
Scotland day trips
Oxford
Wales (I plan to write a few blog entries about this part of the trip, since it was so special to see where my great-grandmother grew up, and to meet my distant cousins there! But for now, here are some of the photos. Aunt Sandi -- don't worry, I will send out a lot more!)

I plan to add one more album of some of my photos from London, and will add the link here once I do that.

A few days in London

welsh cakes

I'll admit that this is an odd first post to be writing after getting back from my trip. I have lots of stories and photos to share, but for now, I'm blogging about Welsh cakes.

My lovely Welsh relatives offered them to me often while I was in Wales, usually for tea. They're a little bit like scones, or American biscuits, but fried instead of baked. I liked them so much that I vowed that I would learn to make them when I got home. Lucky for me, they're really quite easy to make, and I already had a recipe in my handy Wycliffe International Cookbook.

The Welsh version.
My version.
Here's the Wycliffe recipe I used:

Combine:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cut in:
1/4 cup shortening (I used butter)

Add:
1/4 cup raisins (I'm not usually a fan, but I like them in these cakes)
2-4 tablespoons milk, enough to hold batter together

I rolled them into about 1 inch balls, and then squished them flat. You should end up with something about 2 inches across and about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Flour both sides, and then cook in a pan or on a griddle, over low heat. Cook them until they're golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle them with a little sugar, and they're ready to eat!